THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has remained silent in the face of increase in the price of premium motor spirit, widely known as petrol, by various retail outlets across the country.
Most retail outlets dispensing petrol across the country have adusted their pump price, following a document that has gone viral on the social media stating a hike in the price of petrol.
The document bears no official signatory.
Oil marketers have faulted the viral message, insisting it did not bear the signature of the NNPC Ltd.
According to the circulating document, the price of petrol in the Southwest has been adjusted from N165 per litre to N179, in the Northwest from N165 per litre to N184, and in the Northeast from N165 per litre to N189.
Also, the price, according to the circulating document, in the Southsouth has been adjusted from N165 per litre to N179, in the Northcentral from N165 per litre to N179, and in the Southeast from N165 per litre to N174.
The price of the product in Lagos and Abuja was stated in the document as having been increased from N165 per litre to N169 and N174 respectively.
It was also stated that the ex-depot price of the product in the Lagos axis had been adjusted upward from N148.17 to a range of N160 and 162.
The spokesman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Garba Deen Muhammed, did not respond to several calls that the THE ICIR made to him
Officials of the government-owned Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority,(NMDPRA) and marketers had been meeting over fuel price although there has been no official statement on the issue.
THE ICIR had reported that the marketers had made a case on price increase citing rising logistics and general operations costs.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, has faulted the viral message, insisting it did not have the characteristics of NNPC Ltd.
Ukadike said the company would usually send radio messages to their depots and private depots informing marketers of changes in buying and selling prices.
He pointed out that contrary to the circulating price template, NNPC operates an equalisation system that aims at ensuring price uniformity across the country.
His words, “NNPC’s method of sending messages is not that way. They usually send their radio messages to their depots and PDOs informing marketers of changes in buying prices and selling prices.
“I have not also seen where the NPC differentiates price from the fuel bought in Warri Depot to the one bought in Lagos. I also know that the regime of NNPC is based on equalisation, which is to put petrol at the same price everywhere. I also know that thr NNPC will deny that. Maybe they are trying to test the grounds.”
The immediate past president of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN), Adetunji Oyebanji, also told our reporter that the message did not have the characteristics of an official statement from the government.
“The media went to town with a statement like this not signed by the government. What I know is that as I always tell you, marketers are in the business to make profit and the N165 per litre price was no longer feasible,” Oyebanji said.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.